Moonlit Vows Of Vengeance Chapter 44: Illusions

But he didn’t answer. He launched forward again, jaw snapping inches from my throat. I threw him off with everything I had, and we both tumbled across the floor, landing in a crouch.

Blood—his and mine—dotted the ground between us.

"I trusted you," he snarled, voice hoarse. "You left us! You left !"

"I didn’t have a choice!" I snapped. "You don’t know what really happened!" I was trying to play along while I figured out what exactly was wrong with him.

"You ran!" he barked, shaking with rage. "You disappeared without a word, and now you co back and expect everything to be the sa?"

I was panting now, chest heaving, arms trembling from the weight of the fight and the words. "That’s not what happened. I ca back because I had to—because I still care."

Then I saw it—an ethereal thread wrapped around his chest, tied to a floating sigil pulsing above the altar.

That must be the reason he’s acting weird.

I shifted partially, claws extending. With a cry, I sprinted toward the sigil, dodging Lucas’s strikes.

"Stop!" he shouted. But it wasn’t really him.

I leapt, slicing the thread with a single swing. The sigil exploded into silver sparks. Lucas collapsed to his knees, gasping.

"What... happened?"

I ran to him. "You were under so sort of spell. You tried to kill ."

He looked horrified, reaching to touch my cheek. "Are you okay?"

I nodded. "We have to leave. Now."

But the temple wasn’t done.

The ground shook violently. Statues cracked open, revealing monstrous forms of twisted stone wolves with glowing eyes.

Lucas snarled. "You ready?"

I shifted fully. "Let’s go."

So wolves ca out of nowhere. They were clearly also bewitched... they attacked as one. We fought side by side, tooth and claw eting stone. My jaws clamped onto one’s neck, Lucas tore through another’s legs. Sothing erupted from the temple walls, hurling shards of light and shadow.

"We can’t keep this up!"

I nodded. "Back to the entrance—go!"

We sprinted through the chaos, dodging crumbling stone and spectral claws. I could hear the heartbeat of the temple growing louder—as if it were alive.

Lucas burst through the sealed doors with a blast of power, and we tumbled into the night air. The temple roared behind us, but didn’t follow.

We didn’t stop running until we were far from the ruin. Then, panting and covered in wounds, we shifted back.

"What the hell was that?" he asked, wiping blood from his arm.

I shook my head. "A trap. Soone doesn’t want us getting answers."

We rode back in silence under the moonlight. The capital welcod us with quiet shadows. Once inside the gates, we were imdiately ushered to the king.

His eyes narrowed as he saw our battered forms.

"You’ve returned."

"We’ve been attacked," I said plainly. "There’s sothing inside that temple—and soone set a trap."

Lucas added, "A powerful illusion. It nearly had kill her."

The king leaned forward. "Tell everything."

And we did. Every word. Even the ones that left a bitter taste in my mouth.

Lucas stepped forward, still breathing hard. "The Moon Temple—sothing was waiting for us, maybe, or sothing worse. It tricked . I—I thought I was fighting off enemies. I nearly killed her."

I nodded. "We’re not too sure what’s happened there."

The king stood slowly, each movent asured, controlled. "Did you see it? The source?"

"No," I said. "We weren’t even able to get close enough. The structure twisted around us. It felt alive. Lucas fell into a trance. I barely got him out."

Lucas growled beside , and I turned sharply.

His fists were clenched, his shoulders trembling. Sothing wasn’t right.

"Lucas?" I called his na gently.

He didn’t answer.

Instead, he stepped forward.

"You should just die," he snarled, his voice warped.

Then he lunged for the king.

I cried out, lunging after him, but I was too late. Lucas’s claws extended, his fangs bared, his body blurring mid-shift. But the king didn’t move. His eyes glowed, the air shimred and Lucas froze mid-leap, suspended by an unseen force.

His body trembled, suspended above the marble floor. His eyes widened in panic, and I saw it again, clouds swirling within his irises. It was a magical Influence.

The king raised his hand, muttering sothing in the Old Tongue. Light flooded the throne room, silver, pure, blinding.

Lucas scread.

The air trembled. The floor beneath him cracked from the force of the release as black smoke poured from his mouth, his eyes, his ears. The scent of corruption filled the room, foul and thick like rotting flesh.

Then—

Lucas collapsed.

I caught him before he hit the floor. His body was limp, his breathing shallow.

The king stepped down from the throne, his expression unreadable.

"He’s cleansed. For now," he said.

I looked up at him. "What... what was that?"

The king’s gaze darkened. "A tether. Sothing tied to the illusions within the temple. It latched onto him. Feeding."

Lucas stirred in my arms, groaning.

"We are moving too slow," the king continued. "The Moon Goddess is deteriorating. Her power fractures more by the hour. If we don’t gather the remaining fragnts soon, the chaos you saw in the temple will spill into the world. Reality will break."

I stiffened. "Then what’s the next move?"

"The next fragnt lies in the Desert of Mourn," the king said. "Buried beneath the ruins of the first lycan conclave. You must go imdiately."

Lucas sat up slowly, still dazed. "What? what happened?"

The king answered. "You were still under the influence but you’re fine now."

I nodded. "Lucas, how do you feel now?"

The king’s eyes t mine.

"There’s not a lot of ti left."

I felt the world shift beneath my feet.

"You must leave by dawn."

Lucas looked at , his eyes clearer now, he seed to rember what just happened. "I’m sorry for that."

"You weren’t yourself," I said quietly. "Let’s just survive this."